Seville - Alcázar and Catedral tour
Hola
Today is Sevilla Alcázar and Catedral Tour day. Let’s cut to the chase.
Together the Cathedral, Alcázar (and Archivo de Indias which we don’t see) form a monumental complex in the heart of Seville which bring together small remnants of Islamic culture, the centuries of Christian power, Royal sovereignty and the trading power that Spain acquired through its colonies in the New World.
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Tour starts with our visit to the Alcázar founded in the 10th century, reconstructed in the 12th century and then built over in the early 1400’s by the Christians, for the ruling king as his palace. Many Moorish features were retained in the new Royal Palace partly for reasons of cost and partly for inclusivity as they got along a bit better back then ( notwithstanding the Inquisition and all that). Indeed much of the palace was constructed in the Mudéjar style, a unique fusion of Islamic and Christian art and architecture only found here. The history is rich and hopefully the pictures give some sense of this Mudéjar style in both the palace and the fabulous grounds.
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Similarly, the Catedral is built over the top of the old mosque, but there is less to indicate this other than the bell tower (Giralda) which is the original Minaret with some additional floors added for a Christian bell tower! Yes we did go up to the bell tower after the tour, on what the guide suggested was a fairly easy journey - yeah it was a ramp the whole way, but easy - no 🤔. Worth it though for the views, oh and the pleasure of the bell deafening us while we were up there.
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But the Catedral - WOW. It’s huge, and depending on how you measure it, at least the 3rd largest in the world. As you probably know, Mosques are generally low and flat with a huge footprint, so when the Catedral is built over the top of the Mosque it has a huge footprint and huge volume as well. The main body of the Catedral was built in Gothic and Renaissance styles over seven centuries. With its five naves it is the largest Gothic building in Europe - you need a cut lunch to get around! There are 48 chapels incorporated, organs everywhere, and a somewhat hidden room where all the decisions of church and state were made with another actual hidden room behind the Cardinal’s chair (no they don’t let you go in there).
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The tomb of Christopher Columbus is also inside with guaranteed DNA tested bones (using bones of his 2 sons ) to prove its him. However only parts of him are in the tomb as there are (possibly/probably/definitely you choose), some also in the Dominican Republic and also in Havana. This has to do with the number of times he has been moved, over many centuries. There is a lot of politics and intrigue around all of this , best served by a Google search if you are interested.
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Our tour tickets also give us entry to a Museum under the Parasol/Mushroom so we head off there, but it’s Monday today and you know what happens on Monday don’t you - many museums are closed (flashbacks to the Guggenheim in Bilbao in 2009 that we didn’t get to see). However it gives us a chance to inspect this structure up close now we have spare time. The Las Setas de Sevilla opened in 2011, and It is the largest wooden construction in the world (150 x 70 meters and 26 meters in height). Underground the remains of a Roman colony were retained rather than turn it into a parking lot - reasonable choice I say. We get a minor peak of the ruins through a glass wall but alas that’s all.
I should also tell you that we go in search of the FT Weekend newspaper, mainly so Bob can have a Cryptic crossword to do, but also for something to read over breakfast and while relaxing in the lounge (the Captains chairs in the van). This proves to ultimately be a successful venture but not easy. The paper is found at one of those press boxes in squares and major thoroughfares but not in the obvious spots but rather tucked away in a small square that otherwise basically serves bus stop to who knows where.
After that we try to find one of the Tapas bars from our tour on Saturday night, which is actually close by but Google has other ideas - to be fair, the name was provided slightly wrong by our Guide and eventually we just googled the square where it was and voila! We sit down order a drink, and then “the kitchen is closed”. Bugger after all that. So we go back to the Parasol square and try to choose a bar, deciding the one with the queue looks best. And so it is, with atmospheric views of said Parasol, and a busker guitarist somewhere playing Sultans of Swing by Dire Straits - nice.
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More of a stroll to bus stop tonight, an emergency stop for a gelato, and at the stop with 5 minutes to spare.
Tomorrow we are detouring slightly back south to Concil de la Frontera where we are getting a guy (that Bob has been WhatsApp’ing with for 5 days) to do some surgery on the van on the battle scars from the olive tree branch along the passenger side plastics - 🤞🤞🤞it works. (If you missed that story, it’s way back at the start around Villa Nova de Milfontes in Portugal).
Wow, big day today - see you late.
This featured blog entry was written by Bob and Kerrie from the blog Portugal and Spain - 2025.
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